Message
From the Executive President
Dear Shareholders:
2014 was an exceptional year for our company due mainly to the our successful Initial Public Offering through which we issued 144.2 million shares, equivalent to 29.7% of the company.
Water is at the center of our entrepreneurial activity and today, as always, we are committed to helping people have more and better water.
The resources obtained by the IPO will be used primarily to fund capital expenditures and working capital in order to expand the business of individual solutions in the US, consolidate the integrated solutions business in Mexico and Brazil, and to finance growth through possible acquisitions. We will continue with the process of designing and implementing new water solutions that, in conjunction with the ones already in place, will allow us to remain at the forefront of the industry and to maintain our growth trajectory in the geographies in which we operate.
Today climate change, contamination, demographic growth, the need for infrastructure, and the changes in water usage are some of the challenges and problems that are defining the future availability of water.
The Americas are already facing important water scarcity problems, particularly in the Latin-American region, where 40 million people do not have access to potable water and more than 120 million do not have access to sanitation, which in turn results in health problems. This is not a problem that affects developing nations exclusively; in the US, for example, in the state of California, they are facing one of the worst draughts in history and they are implementing extraordinary measures to be able to ensure the supply of this important resource.
Our individual solutions include a wide range of products designed to store, carry, and treat water, particularly water tanks, cisterns, hydraulic pipes, sanitation pipes, biodigestors, filters, and purifiers, among others.
The main integrated solutions contribute to fighting water scarcity and to sustainably solving the basic water needs of the families around us and they offer a solution for the lack of water sanitation infrastructure which at the same time improves quality of life and minimizes the impact on the environment.
In 2014 we sold our solutions to governments in different countries to improve the quality of life of their citizens.
Regarding water, for example, the Mexican government implemented a comprehensive program to encourage students in public and private schools to drink water, in an attempt to reduce the country’s high rates of childhood diabetes and obesity.
Our participation in these programs is consistent with our goal to provide access to clean water by offering innovative and value-added water solutions aimed at improving the quality of life. With our individual and integrated water solutions we offer governments high-quality solutions that support the development of populations in their countries.
The company’s growth strategy is based on innovation in water solutions. In 2014, we continued to develop new technologies to innovate and improve our existing water solutions and production processes in our research and development center (Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo, CID). This has allowed us to expand our product mix, reduce our operating costs and, simultaneously, optimize operations and adapt to the changing needs of our customers and to advances in technology.
We are leaders in the majority of the markets in which we operate and our success is based on the strong recognition of the Rotoplas brand as a symbol of value, quality, social responsibility, and trust.
Our diversified water solutions business, strategic distribution network, the strong positioning of our brands, our platform focused on processes and systems, production plants in the local markets, ability to seize opportunities, as well as our management team who, although young have many years of experience in this sector, and our strong focus on constant innovation, are the competitive advantages that we believe will continue to support our growth.
At year-end 2014, we had 24 production facilities installed in the Americas and five distribution centers strategically located in Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Through our extensive distribution network, we reached close to 7 thousand customers in more than 23 thousand points-of-sale, with important reductions in distribution and transportation costs.
Our financial results for 2014 are testament to the goals we have reached and the success we have obtained in Mexico, Brazil and the rest of the Americas in taking our water solutions to the people and companies that need them most.
The financial results for 2014 are testament to the goals we have reached and the success we have obtained in taking our water solutions to the people and companies that need them.
Dear Shareholders:
It is with great pride that I share with you this report on the main initiatives and strategies that contributed to Rotoplas reaching its results and to continuing to be a leading company in the water sector, with an innovative vision that has a direct impact on health and well-being issues for families, and to improving the quality of life of thousands of people in the Americas.
Today we are very well positioned in a market valued at 600 billion dollars that, besides the tangible economic benefits it brings to our company, presents us with the opportunity to contribute to offering a solution to a problem that constitutes an important challenge for humanity.
We have a unique combination of capabilities and competitive advantages that allow us to capitalize on specific market opportunities and continue offering innovative and value-added water solutions.
We also have a management team with ample experience in the water industry and a unique group of employees, whose joint work has permitted us to maintain the high quality of our products and a constant growth in sales.
I thank you for your trust and reiterate that we will continue to work on developing solutions to contribute to take better and more water to people.
Sincerely,
Carlos Rojas Mota Velasco
Executive President
and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mexico City, April 2015.